Posted: September 21, 2023 8:17 pm ET | Last Updated: September 21, 2023 8:17 pm ET | A second Independent Review Board on the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return mission concludes that the mission cannot be completed on the cost and schedule NASA advertises. The current design would cost $8-9.6 billion and alternatives could cost as much as $11 billion. Launches cannot take place until at least 2030. The IRB-2, chaired by Orlando Figueroa, also criticized how NASA is managing the program and communicating the importance of returning samples from the Red Planet.
Thank you for providing this interesting insight. I didn’t know any of this. I hope JPL will be able to build up the necessary in house experience again to not having to depend on contractors. Maybe in the distant future mankind will be able to actually work together on this problem space instead of being busy with corporate infighting.